- Blending fact and fiction, Siamese Tears is a faithful account of the
events leading to the Paknam incident through the eyes of those who
witnessed them Siam 1890. Blue-stocking Julie Gallet is an
independent-minded Parisian who has made what her English mother
describes as an imprudent match. Following her husband to the Far East,
she comes to stay with Michael Crawfurd, her British diplomat cousin and
discovers a glittering city of golden spires and colonial intrigue as
the Kingdom is caught between France's territorial ambitions and
England's quest for supremacy and influence in Asia. Resisting her
family's entreaties to return home, Julie settles in Bangkok, becomes a
French teacher to the ladies of the Royal Court and becomes passionately
involved in Siamese life and affairs. Her frank and irreverent journal
recounts her growing political awareness along with the awakening of her
sensuality. While Paris and London play a game of global chess with the
Siamese as their pawns, both she and Michael find their national and
personal loyalties tested. Their lives and loves take unexpected turns,
and Siam struggles to retain its independence against a ruthless and
formidable opponent. Blending fact and fiction, Siamese Tears is a
faithful account of the events leading to the Paknam incident through
the eyes of those who witnessed them.
